Saturday, October 19, 2013

After Friday's most excellent Pirates Pizza Night celebration, and having accomplished our goal of 100 days straight of Lake Michigan swimming, it seems as good a time as any to formally end the swim season.

I Patriarch of the Klode Kru do hereby declare the 2013 summer swim season closed. Any further swims this year will be counted as "Viking" swims, and the participants thereof considered insane.

Here are some of my highlights of this swim season, please add your own in the comments:

- Those few perfect days when the water was flat calm and clear and the swimming was more like effortless gliding. Some of those days were July 4th, Big Shoulders, and the Shipwreck Swim.

- On the other hand, those few big wave days when it was fun to just roll and splash in the surf.

- Spectacular sunrises over the lake viewed from the water.

- The great post-swim party at McTwists

- The false alarm that caused the North Shore Fire Department to come to the beach in force looking for a non-existent "swimmer in distress"

- The day a most attractive video journalist from channel 12 shows up looking for the swimmers doing a tribute to Diana Nyad, and Capn's reaction to her and his subsequent TV interview.

- The day a record 40 people came to swim, and the water temp plunged to 40 degrees.

- Watching Mike & Co. swim 5 miles across Whitefish Bay.

- Kahuna's Skull and Crossbones flag.

- GTGBFTOFB Day (Get the great big freaking tire off our beach day).

- Best quote of the season: James to Cap'n, "To get swimmers ear you have to be a swimmer"

Who's in for Pirates Pizza Night Thursday at Lisa's? Please post a comment if you are so we can save you a seat!

The water doesn't seem to be warming up and the mornings/days keep getting colder and darker. As a result the Kru's next swim remains TBD.

The 51 degree water Sunday didn't stop Diablo, Gumdrop and I from logging a skin swim. Even more impressive was Diablo who swam up to Cedar Grove and back! Not quite as brave...but not to be out done....I logged two loops to Garage and back from Klode's NE beach so that I could exit the water along with Diablo. (...total swim time was nearly 25 minutes...) Tapering for the upcoming cooler water and air temps Gumdrop opted just to log just a brisk swim up to Garage and back.

We did it!! 100 consecutive days of swimming in Lake Michigan! The Lady of the Lake sure didn't make it easy the past few days...and Mother Nature threatened to really test our determination with Thunderstorms Thursday morning. Fortunately for us the storms held off and the water warmed nearly 5 degrees for consecutive swim day 100.

Thick fog and icy water greeted us Friday. Nothing we haven't swum in before...but with our 100 day milestone in the bank and earning interest the Kru lacked sufficient motivation to walk the plank. Saturday the plan is to swim at 1pm. Sunday the plan is to cheer Kahuna on as he passes mile 19 of the Lakefront Marathon...which is near the Klode parking lot. Per my calculations this should occur between 10-10:30am. Obviously with the marathon proceeding along the roads that lead to the Klode parking lot you will need to park a few blocks west of Klode and walk in for Sunday morning's swim.

Consecutive Day #99....the Lady of the Lake sure isn't making it easy for us to extend our consecutive days of swimming to 100. The verdict is still out as to whether Mother Nature should be added to the list of adversaries to our goal of reaching 100. We all agree though that conditions certainly could have been worse this morning.

After 14+ days of waves and turbulent swim conditions this morning's glass like lake surface was a very pleasant surprise. The cloudless sky, calm winds and air temps in the mid-50's were also a pleasant reprieve from the mid-40's and breezy conditions we had the past 2 mornings. Also encouraging the Kru this morning was a spectacular crimson glow on the horizon and the promise of a warm summer like day that's been forecast.

Yes...your eyes are not deceiving you regarding the reference above to Diablo swimming skin this morning. He not only swam skin but got his money's worth out of the 1/4+mile picnic table and back journey. Without hesitation Diablo walked the plank, methodically swam south to the picnic table and then proceeded to take a very round about route return trip by swimming further out from shore than Gumdrop and I. Consequently, while we did not record an official swim time this morning Diablo arguably spent more time in the water than the rest of us.

Another noteworthy point for the record...without the benefit of knowing the water temp this morning Gumdrop actually swam a few minutes earlier than the rest of us. It probably goes without saying that it's a lot easier embarking on an insane adventure when you already know Gumdrop has completed it. :)

PS. For those that are interested...the record coldest 'official' Klode Kru swim is 41 recorded on 12/5/2009. Diablo's skin swim at 45.1 is a record! ....an 'official' Klode Kru swim is at least 1/4 mile.

PPS. It's not looking good for Pirates Pizza night Thursday or for the rest of this week. (...should have checked The Patriarch's schedule before posting....) Perhaps we can connect next week to celebrate our season? Please post a comment if you have a preferred evening.

We are now just 2 swim days away from logging our 100th consecutive day of swimming! How about we celebrate and share some of our favorite stories of 2013 over Pizza & Beer Thursday night? How about 7pm at Lisa's pizza?